Proposals have been made in the prior art relating to permanently installed denture plates and implanted teeth. Some examples of the patented prior art are contained in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 973,343; 3,514,858; 1,060,568; 3,624,904; 2,836,890; 3,675,327.
The prior art techniques for permanently installed dentures have not proven entirely practical and satisfactory and thus the concept is not widely utilized at the present time. A main deficiency of the prior art lies in the seating of the denture plate on the top (or bottom) of the gum surface and relying on pins or screws penetrating into the underlying bone structure for anchorage. In time, these anchoring means loosen and the denture plate is no longer secure.
The objective of this invention is to improve on the prior art through provision of a permanent denture plate (complete or partial, upper or lower) and surgical method of installing, in which the plate is not only anchored to the bone structure by screws but has tissue compatible apertured skirt portions which are inserted in gum incisions and sutured in place with dissolvable sutures. The gum flaps formed by incising the gum will heal around the skirt portions of the plate and will permanently and securely retain the plate seated on and within the gum in a much more stable manner than is possible in the prior art.